By Scott French, Senior Editor

A U.S. Soccer delegation will meet Tuesday in Zurich with FIFA officials to determine whether the Women's World Cup, taken away Saturday from China in reaction to the SARS outbreak, will be played next fall in the United States.

Secretary General Dan Flynn will lead the team, which will discuss expectations for the tournament and how well American soccer officials can match standards set during the U.S.-hosted 1999 WomenÆs World Cup.

''It's a huge undertaking in a very, very short period of time,'' U.S. Soccer President Robert Contiguglia said Sunday from his Colorado home. ''Clearly, there is a risk involved for U.S. Soccer. The real question is what is it that will make it a success with us and FIFA working together, and is it doable. Those are discussions that have to be held on Tuesday.''

A U.S. Soccer official last month told Soccer America that the federation had no interest in stepping in for China and that there was ''no chance'' the event would be held in the United States.

Now it appears that the tournament will come to the United States if U.S. officials tell FIFA that they want to stage the event.

Reuters reported Saturday that a ''senior U.S. Federation official'' had ''intimated'' the tournament would be played in the United States and that the announcement would be made ''in a couple of days.''

Contiguglia said the report was untrue.

''I have no idea who said that,'' Contiguglia said. ''Whoever said that was mistaken.''

FIFA's Executive Committee voted Saturday in Zurich to pull the fourth Women's World Cup from China after a unanimous recommendation from its Sports Medicine Committee to do so. Severe acute respiratory syndrome has killed more than 400 people and left more than 6,000 ill in more than two dozen countries. It originated in the Far East and has had a significant presence in China.

Contiguglia said talk of the United States stepping in for China initiated after U.S. Soccer last month sent FIFA President Sepp Blatter a note offering any aid it could provide.

''We got a request from FIFA last weekend, that if we were interested, to drop a formal note expressing interest, which we did,'' Contiguglia said. ''We said we were interested in sitting down and discussing doing the World Cup with them. Obviously, because of the short time frame, there are a significant number of hurdles and issues to deal with.''

If it is determined that the 16-nation tournament will be held in the United States, Contiguglia said, the plan likely would be to stage the event in the planned window, Sept. 23 to Oct. 11.

''I think with our experience in '94 and '99, and with MLS, WUSA and U.S. Soccer, we have in place a core infrastructure of professionals who know how to put on events,'' he said. ''In addition, we've probably got the best group of volunteers on the planet, who I know will step up to the plate and do everything to make the event a success. I feel pretty confident, if we can work out a fair understanding with FIFA, we can put on an event, and it will be good.''

Australia, initially the only nation to bid for the 2003 WWC, also has expressed interest in staging the tournament, and Brazil and Sweden also are possibilities.

''My guess would be that they'll wind up here,'' CONCACAF Secretary General Chuck Blazer, a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee, told the Associated Press. ''Australia at the moment is having some organizational difficulties, and the U.S. would be a better choice.''

Some of the venues used during the 1999 Women's World Cup likely won't be available in the fall because of professional and college football. The Rose Bowl, where the '99 final was played, is home to UCLA's football team in the fall, and the reconstructed Soldier Field (Chicago), Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.), Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (Landover, Md.) and Gillette Stadium, the replacement for Foxboro (Mass.) Stadium, all are home fields for NFL teams. Stanford Stadium and nearby Spartan Stadium in San Jose play host to college football teams.

D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission president and executive director Bobby Goldwater has offered RFK Stadium in Washington as a venue, and Contiguglia mentioned Columbus Crew Stadium and the Home Depot National Training Center in Southern California, due to open next month, as soccer-specific venues where games could be played.

''It would be a totally different tournament than 1999,'' former U.S. Soccer President Alan Rothenberg, who was in charge of U.S. organization of the 1994 men's World Cup, told the Associated Press. ''I doubt very much that we'd be talking of playing in all big stadiums and all over the country.

''It's obviously going to be a difficult challenge. We have to see what FIFA is willing to do in flexibility in scheduling, team placement, doubleheaders, doubling up on training sites. No matter what, it's not doable at the same level of 1999. I don't think you ever repeat 1999. That was almost magical.

''We'll see what assistance FIFA is willing to provide. If they do, we probably have the inside track.''

FIFA was greatly impressed with the phenomenal crowds and passion at the 1999 tournament, and also with the WUSA, the only fully professional women's soccer league on the planet. Moving the tournament to these shores, FIFA officials know, would likely garner more attention than a move elsewhere, providing greater help for women's soccer's standing worldwide.

The other options aren't as attractive. Australia, although it put on a wonderful Olympic Games in 2000, would not expect large gatherings for the matches, and the event would be overshadowed by the Oct. 10-Nov. 22 Rugby World Cup, which will be played in Australia.

Crowds were insignificant at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden. There are grave doubts about Brazil's ability to organize the tournament in so short a time.

Accompanying Flynn in Tuesday's meeting in Zurich will be U.S. Soccer Deputy Executive Director Jay Berhalter and MLS Commissioner Don Garber, representing the group controlling television rights to the tournament. Contiguglia will participate via telephone.

''I'm hoping what we come out of Tuesday with,'' Contiguglia said. ''is an understanding that we can work together with FIFA and put on an event with them that will be very special and will justify some very, very talented athletes, that will celebrate an American team that has done so much for women's sport worldwide, and that we can go forward with it.

''On the other hand, we'll see.''